basket fern n 1: tropical American fern cultivated for its finely divided greyish-green foliage; West Indies and southern Mexico to Peru and Brazil [syn: {basket fern}, {toothed sword fern}, {Nephrolepis pectinata}] 2: giant epiphytic or lithophytic fern; Asia to Polynesia and Australia [syn: {basket fern}, {Drynaria rigidula}]